Employment-Based Placements

Under certain circumstances, students can request to fulfill their field education requirement at their employer. This is referred to as the co-occurring field education and employment option, and the Field Office must approve it. 

Only one of the student's required two placements for the MSW program can be fulfilled using the co-occurring field education and employment option. For advanced standing students, this includes the bachelor of social work placement. 

Requirements for the co-occurring field education and employment option include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. The employment duties must align with and fulfill the competencies and behaviors specific to the student's year in the program and, if applicable, specialization. A list of competencies and behaviors can be found here. 

2. A social worker with two years post-master experience must be employed at the agency and willing to serve as the student's Field Instructor. This person may or may not be the same as the student's direct employment supervisor. 

3. The student's employer must agree with the request. 

4. The employer must agree to and sign the template affiliation agreement provided by the program. We cannot approve a co-occurring field education and employment option if changes to the agreement are requested.

Students interested in the co-occurring field education and employment option must complete the Field Form and then schedule a meeting with their field coordinator.

Next Steps

📽️ Watch a video about the co-occurring field and employment options. 

📑 See our Field Manual for more details. 

📋 Student completes the Field Form with input from the employer/supervisor.

📆 Student schedules a meeting with their field coordinator.